I Am Phienyx- Part 2

By David Jennings

Do you believe in vampires, ghosts, werewolves, and demons? I do. I've killed hundreds of them in the Matrix. Unfortunately, I've also seen many people killed by these beings...too many people.

To those bluepills aware of the "supernatural" world, I'm known as something of an exorcist/vampire hunter of sorts. Before my awakening, I suspected that there was some substance to claims of the existence of a "supernatural" world. Unfortunately, almost all of the sources of information on the subject were based on fiction, folklore, legend and speculation; theories concocted by the blinded minds and limited understanding of bluepills.

These entities that bluepills refer to, as supernatural beings are simply some of the most corrupted, malevolent and parasitic of exile programs. Those of us that are the awakened, of course understand that exile programs are rogue programs that at one time, performed valid functions, but have become obsolete or corrupted and no longer do what they were programmed to do. They actively avoid recycling and deletion although they know that this is the programmed order of things. They instead continue to exist within the system, operating according to various personal agendas and in the process, wreaking havoc and disrupting things for both the humans and the machines. The "supernatural" exiles, however, have been corrupted to the extent of making a point to prey on anything and anyone they come in contact with; human, machine, awakened or unawakened and even other exiles.  These "supernatural" are what are referred to by bluepills as werewolves, vampires, ghosts, succubus's, demons, wraiths...etc...etc.

Thought they are often used by the more organized of the exile organizations at times, these covens have primitive, dark, self-indulgent agendas of their own that they pursue without regard for anything else. By forcefully accessing the source code of other programs, "supernaturals" can turn legitimate properly functioning programs into grotesquely corrupted versions of their former states; making the program one of their own kind. For humans, the fate is far worse.

Because a human's RSI is so intricately connected with the physical brain, when infected by a "supernatural", the bulk of the human's electronic signature becomes separated from the brain to wander as another "supernatural" within the Matrix. The residual electronic remains of that person that stays with the physical body is also severely corrupted. The result is that the human literally loses their mind and they progressively sink deeper and deeper into madness, deforming both mind and body until they are finally released only by the death of their physical self. What's left of their consciousness remains trapped within the Matrix, doing what it must to survive until deletion. I watched this happen to a former crewmate. It was not something I'd ever wish to witness again.

We were in the Mannsen Park area of the Westview district, on our way to meet with a contact in a nearby apartment complex. We'd just jacked into the hard-line in NW Mannsen. It was nighttime. Everything was quiet, but I knew that we were being watched. Our operator informed us that he was seeing some really nasty code in the area and that usually meant the corrupted code of  "supernaturals"...more specifically, in this area "vampires". I was used to that as we operated in this area on a fairly regular basis.

We weren't here to play tonight. Tonight we had a specific objective, but I'd brought plenty of wooden stakes along anyway. I usually only brought these when I was coming to this particular part of the city. There was something specific about the code in wooden stakes, "holy" water and silver that had severely adverse affects on "supernaturals". When the code of these items came in contact with the code of these particular exiles, bad things happened to them that were almost always fatal. Certain of these items were more effective against certain variants than others, but all were more effective to some extent than more traditional weapons. From what I have been told and have observed, these objects actually cause the "supernaturals", what we can only describe as pain.

My partner, Nano and I had been working together for over a year now. Before Nano had gotten out, he was a member of a freelance ring of hacker and tech heads that did various jobs for the highest bidder. Usually these "highest bidders" were not involved in what most would consider legal activities. Unlike many techno geeks, Nano was one of the few in his network that wasn't afraid to pick up a real weapon and use it. In fact, when I tracked him down, he was on the run from a former client's goons for gunning down the nephew of that client. He never told me why. He was in the process of electronically erasing all record of his existence and agents were on to him, so we located him and I offered him an alternative...the red pill.

The process of learning the truth changed him drastically, as it did most people. I watched him change from a young, smart assed, criminally minded college drop out, who was willing and able to do almost anything for the right price, to a highly skilled, smart-assed operative who's dedication to Zion and humanity bordered on insanity. He was a bit of a hothead, but I wouldn't have traded him for any other partner. Nano would never let me forget that he felt that he owed his life to me and would return the favor one day.

This trip into the Matrix was merely an information-gathering mission, nothing more. But this night was not to be so uneventful. Nano and I had become well known to the vampire covens that controlled most of Mannsen; myself more so than Nano because I'd been working the area longer. They even have a name for me. They call me the Dark Angel. Angel, of course, referred to my crew at the time, the Furious Angels. I'm not sure if the "dark" was in reference to my skin color or the fact that I wore mostly dark colors instead of the white that the Angels were known for. It was of no matter. Each vampire, werewolf, ghost, and demon I eliminated was a service performed for the benefit of everyone.

The night was cool and breezy. The ground was still wet from the most recent down pour. I flipped up the collar of my black croc skin trench against the wind and we melted into the shadows and disappeared into the labyrinth of alleyways. I was mindful to avoid the usual gathering spots and hangouts that many vampires frequented. We didn't have time to be sidetracked tonight. There was something going down between the vampires and werewolves and humans were involved in the plot in some way.Our contact supposedly had some information that would shed some light on the situation.

I went through the usual pains of traveling in such a manner as to completely confuse or lose any potential tails. This was the usual routine before meeting with the contact, but tonight, I felt I needed to be even more cautious than normal. Nano noticed this and questioned me about it. I didn't want to spook him unnecessarily, but as partners, we had to be able to trust each other without question and this meant communicating every observation, hunch, 6th sense and thought to the other. I told him that I just couldn't shake the feeling that were being watched, but not by the usual presence of aimless blood drinkers. This presence felt more sinister and purposeful. Was my sense valid or was I just getting paranoid in my old age?

We couldn't wander around aimlessly forever, so we finally made our way to the designated location, entering the building through a roof access door that Nano so skillfully picked the lock of. I had our operator do a security sweep when we got inside, but he couldn't get a clean reading, which wasn't good. But they hadn't sent us in on this because it was a stroll in the park. We had a job to accomplish and risk was part of it.

We took the elevator to the 13th floor as instructed and located room "999". I instructed Nano to remain outside the door and to keep me informed of anyone who came into the area, regardless of how harmless they looked. I still didn't trust the situation. I went back to the roof and climbed down the fire escape to enter the apartment though the window there. It's amazing how many ambushes I've avoided by making my entrances in an unconventional manner.

Our contact was in the living room, sitting in a reclining chair, staring at the television. He never heard me approach silently from behind. I already had one of my pistols in my hand. Staying just out of reach, I instructed him to stand up. Apparently, I startled him because he rocketed out of the chair and spun around, which almost earned him several rounds of hot silver as I tensed, grabbed my weapon with both hands and crouched into a ready firing position.

That's when I noticed that the informant wasn't a "he", but a "she" with short, dark hair. She was youngish and slender and looked like she used to be pretty at one time and could be again if she took better care of herself. Though she looked nothing like her except for the short dark hair, a vision of my Nyah flashed through my head and I pushed that away; tucking it back into the deep dark corner of my heart where it would remain safe and untainted.  Dammit, I couldn't be thinking of her now!

I instructed the woman not to move as I moved around behind her and gave her a quick frisk to check for weapons. There were none that I could tell. Nyah's face flashed into my mind again and this time, I physically shook my head in an effort to remove the visual. I had to be sharp and on my game right now. I glanced at the front apartment door, which was just across the room. I knew Nano was on the other side keeping watch and that gave me some comfort as I gathered my thoughts again.

I identified myself and instructed the waif to start talking. She seemed to stare straight through the dark lenses of my shades as she reached into and pulled an encased disc from her waistband. Setting the disc on the table next to her, she smiled at me, revealing her elongated canine teeth and licked her lips. She told me that she thought I was cute and said that everything that we needed to know was on the disc.

Just as I grabbed the disc, the apartment door exploded off of its hinges and into the room, followed closely by a bloodied Nano. Both landed on the floor with a crash. Instantly, I had my second weapon in my empty hand. One pointed at the waifish vampire and one at the doorway through which several blood drunks were now entering, sizing me up with their eyes. I stole a quick glance at Nano, whom I was glad to see was still alive. He was moaning and writhing in pain as he clutched his neck. No! Not that! My mind screamed out. A cold chill of fear shot through my veins as I realized what had happened to my friend and partner. My attention was brought back to the group of vampires that had just entered the room.

A taller, dark cloaked figure entered behind them, striding casually into the room as if he owned it. The waif of a vampire that was my contact suddenly let out a vicious hiss. My eyes flickered to her for a moment and I saw fear and rage in her eyes. I did not understand completely what was going on here, but I knew Nano was most likely lost and I was next if I didn't do something quickly. I now had 10 blood drunks looking at me hungrily and this powerful looking male figure who was obviously someone who demanded respect and very important and quite obviously a vampire as well. He stood there gazing at me with dark, dead eyes, while using a handkerchief to wipe away, what I can only assume was Nano's blood from his chin.

He said something in their language and the blood drunks burst into action. Most of them came after me and two went after the waif. I bolted into action, scooping up the disc I had dropped, tucking it away into a pocket while letting loose a barrage of rounds at the advancing blood drinkers. Man, these guys were fast! I caught a couple of them with those rounds, but the others kept coming. I ducked, dodged and stepped around them as I holstered my pistols and pulled out my wooden stakes; one in each hand. It was time for some up close and personal work just to thin the numbers if I was going to escape with my RSI intact. Amid a flurry of kicks and blows, I continued to duck and weave. A spin move resulted in me impaling one careless vampire through the chest. I knocked another flat on his back with a powerful front kick.

Time seemed to slow down as I concentrated every ounce of my mind on surviving this battle. I lept high into the air, and over two charging blood drunks. I grabbed my one remaining stake in both hands as I flew through the air, bringing it up over my head. I landed on top of the blood drunk I had just kicked to the floor and used every bit of my momentum and weight to drive the stake into his chest cavity. A front roll off of him brought me face to face with Nano, who was still barely breathing. It was then that I noticed the puncture holes in his neck from being bitten and my heart broke, knowing I could do nothing for him. He tried to mouth some words to me, but his eyes said it all. It was time for me to let go and get outta here. I glanced behind me and saw the remaining blood drunks drawing down on me with guns. I burst into motion, hearing the zip-crack of rounds barely missing me.

My immediate goal was to get to the nearest window, which I dove through, headfirst. They followed. The free-fall seemed to last an eternity.   When I hit the ground, more blood drunks converged on me from the darkness. There was no way I could fight this many alone. I broke into a dead run toward the only place that came to mind as a haven of safety. The abandoned Mannsen Church, which was the only remaining sign that God had ever graced this district with his presence. I covered the two-mile distance to the church in record time, but it seemed to take forever and I knew the blood drunks were hot on my trail. I could also feel the heavier, more sinister presence of that cloaked figure.... whoever he was...he was still on my trail as well. I burst through the chained front doors of the run down church and retreated into the darkness of the sanctuary.

I sunk to the ground, hiding behind the crumbling and rotting pulpit and peered around its edge. I could see multitudes of blood drinkers gathered just outside the doorway, hissing and taunting me, but refusing to enter the church itself. It was probably more out of their own superstition than any real reasoning that they never entered churches, but whatever it was, it was keeping me alive at the moment. The crowd of vampires parted and the cloaked figure passed through them and walked into the church. I got to my feet, a wooden stake in one hand and a pistol loaded with silver tipped bullets in the other. The cloaked vampire stopped and stood 5 feet away from me and spoke in a deep, rumbling voice.


" I cannot kill you in here, Angel, as much as I would like to do so," he said, seemingly in genuine disgust. " My superiors in their infinite stupidity have made a pact that "holy grounds" are off limits to us for hunting. Something to do with our continued survival or something like that."

The cloaked figure waved his hand flippantly.

"So, I will not break that pact...today. My time will come, be assured. Whatever information you think you have gained cannot help your precious humanity. Shall I say.... our rabbit hole goes much deeper than your rabbit hole."

The vampire chuckled mockingly.

"You have doubtlessly called for back up, so I will be taking my leave. I don't feel like getting wrinkled tonight. I've already gotten blood on myself."   He said brushing dust from his coat.

The vampire's dark eyes burned into my own with that last statement. He held my gaze for a moment before turning to leave. It was all I could do not to attempt to drive the wooden stake into his skull, but something held me back.... probably common sense and my sense of self preservation. I hid out in the church until daylight, then returned to my hovercraft via the nearest hard-line.

Though Nano's body was scientifically still alive, I watched him physically deteriorate into a grotesque shell of his former self and his mind sink deeper and deeper into madness. When his body ceased to function, there was not even a shadow that remained of who he had been. I dread the day that I meet what remains of his RSI in the Matrix.

I am not, nor have I ever really been a religious man, but there comes a time in everyone's life when they are faced with more than they think they can handle alone. It is then that they must either fail, or turn to a higher power to help them through and to motivate them to go on. If this doesn't make sense to you yet, you haven't reached this level of desperation and despair yet...but you will.  Everyone does.

I now hunt vampires more than I ever have; yet they get more and more bold by the day in venturing and operating outside of their previous comfort zone of Mannsen. Therefore, I make sure I am always ready for them. I will never be able to erase the pain of losing Nano, but each kill helps to pacify my rage, even if only for a short time.